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American companies employed more than 33 million workers in 2009 at general manufacturing firms that produced approximately $4 billion in products, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Manufacturing processes differ with company preferences and the requirements of the product, but a large number of firms use straight-line production techniques to create items.

Straight-Line Production Process

Planning decisions for manufacturing require firms to make choices determining the best way to assemble or construct a product. Straight-line production produces a product in a contiguous process, beginning with the first step and ending with completion of the product. The simplest form of straight-line production uses an assembly belt or mechanized table allowing workers a chance to assemble a product in a prescribed order. Large manufacturing operations move a product through various departments organized on a large-scale production line. When workers in one department complete one construction step, the goods move to the the next department to complete the second step in straight-line production. This process continues until the product is finished.

Straight-Line Requirements

The physical requirements for straight-line production vary considerably, depending on the type of manufacturing being done. For example, straight-line production facilities for a bakery include "floor space, electricity, natural gas and ventilation," according to "Baking Management," a magazine for the baking industry. Businesses that want to set up straight-line production need adequate power sources, interior lighting suitable for line production, and sufficient space allowing access routes mandated by local fire codes and safety rules.

Typical Straight-Line Businesses

Not all production processes work well with the straight-line technique due to the nature of manufacture or the types of workers required to manipulate the product during the manufacturing process, but some goods match well with the line process. Companies producing baked goods, ceramic pottery, automobiles, and cell phone construction, as examples, typically use straight-line production approaches to manufacture goods.

Business Adaptations

Straight-line production mandates physical requirements not always present in company facilities, but adaptation of the firm's physical layout provides an opportunity to use straight-line production methods. Almost any business with manufacturing facilities can adapt the physical plant to meet the requirements for straight-line production, but the cost to do so can also increase the cost of doing business and the price of the product, making the adaptation impractical and wasteful. To evaluate possible conversion, businesses should isolate the specific possibility curve for the product and industry. This production curve tracks the potential production, while also considering the efficiency of the operations, the scarcity of materials necessary to produce the product, and the potential efficiency of the straight-line production method. If the information from the curve shows the production makes sense for the business owner, the data encourages owners to undergo the conversion to straight-line production.

About the Author

Lee Grayson has worked as a freelance writer since 2000. Her articles have appeared in publications for Oxford and Harvard University presses and research publishers, including Facts On File and ABC-CLIO. Grayson holds certificates from the University of California campuses at Irvine and San Diego.